BSW Wealth Partners Purchases 319 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BSW Wealth Partners increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,850 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in American Express were worth $1,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auxier Asset Management raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 12,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,567,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $317.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $302.97 and a 200-day moving average of $275.72. American Express has a 52-week low of $199.07 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $223.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.50.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.